US President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, according to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell. The execution will be the first carried out by the US military since 1961.
Hasan, who was sentenced to death in 2013 for the mass shooting at the military base, chose to defend himself during trial but called no witnesses and made no attempt to deny the charges. The Army secretary will set the time and place of the execution, with Parnell stating 'Judgment day for Hasan has finally come.'
The execution follows a period of moratorium on federal death penalties, with Trump resuming the practice after an informal moratorium. The last military execution was in 1961, and the military death penalty is rare, with four men currently on death row at Fort Leavenworth.
The execution is expected to proceed despite potential legal challenges, including a habeas corpus appeal in civilian federal courts, which could delay the process for years.